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Unlike its PSP counterpart, the Nintendo DS has been no stranger to North American Square Enix releases. Chocobo Tales, Final Fantasy III, Children of Mana and Dragon Quest Rocket Slime have all graced their presence on Western shores. And Square Enix is far from done supporting Nintendo's money-printer.

Of the eight titles, we've got 4 Final Fantasy games, 3 strategy games, 2 remakes, and one surefire Japanese phenomenon by way of Dragon Quest IX. Have a look at the publisher's upcoming selection after the break.

Attendees at the Square Enix party 2007 will be able to pick up a ton of fantastic gear, including the pictured clock. The 'Ivalice Alliance' inscription is taken from the Final Fantasy universe. Other things up for grabs include Final Fantasy XI treasure coins, Dragon Quest pin badges, coaster sets and manga. The party takes place this weekend in Chiba, Japan.

All this swag doesn't come for nothing -- you're expected to earn your game memorablia. The requirements aren't too onerous though; most of them involve collecting stamps from the various game stands present at the party.

You could just wait for this stuff to find its way onto your online auction site of choice in the not-too-distant future.

We doubt that's going to be the real title, but we never could avoid sequel humor. Apparently, director Motomu Toriyama enjoyed making Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings so much that he'd like to develop a sequel.

This is by no means a confirmation or an announcement or any of the other things it'll be labeled on message boards. It's just a casual statement. But a Revenant Wings sequel seems likely, since the sales have been pretty good, and, most importantly, we're talking about Square Enix, who has kind of a thing for sequels.

Over at 1UP, they got their hands on a few Japanese magazines containing info on the highly-anticipated (by us, anyway) Final Fantasy XII spin-off title Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. In checking out their preview, we noticed that there is a lot of new information on the game. As such, we're doing the gentlemanly thing and presenting it to you, fine reader, in the most entertaining way possible: with our minds. Why yes, dear reader, in fact right now you are staring at a blank computer screen, it is us who have projected the image of this website into your mind and, might we say, it's awfully cold and vacant up here.

Jokes about your intelligence aside, some of the newly-acquired facts on the title include:

• The game will feature over 50 different summons, with each varying in rank (three total ranks)
• The third rank summon may only be used once in each map
• A section of the airship will be used to house in-game achievements, taking the form of monuments
• The Salamander summon has been changed from a lizard to a wild boar

[Thanks, Ibrahim!]

For those of you who've been itching for this game, you'll be happy to know that the Japanese website for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings has uploaded a new trailer. This trailer focuses on showing us some more dialogue and battle segments, but mainly just dialogue. For those who are interested in seeing more of tha, then head on over and check the trailer out.

The official Japanese website for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings has been live for a bit on the series of tubes that make up the internet. Now, through this wondrous website, one may access a nice little trailer on the main page, as well as some cool downloads.

The downloads include desktop wallpapers and a promotional video from Jump Festa 2007. Other things, such as the game's prologue and character descriptions, are in Japanese and able to stand up to our most deadly translation bots.

See also: Revenant Wings media explosion

Did you read my hands-on of Atlus' upcoming PSP-exclusive RPG, Monster kingdom: Jewel Summoner? The game has some serious talent behind it, especially in the music department. The RPG features works from celebrated composers, listed below:

• Shinji Hosoe (Ridge Racer series)
• Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII)
• Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Xenosaga)
• Kenji Ito (Sword of Mana)
• Yoko Shimomura (Street Fighter II)
• Masaharu Iwata (Final Fantasy Tactics)
• Tsukasa Masuko (Shin Megami Tensei series)
• Yasuyuki Suzuki (Doshin the Giant)
• Ayako Saso (Phantom Kingdom)
• Takahiro Ogata (Shin Megami Tensei NINE)

The soundtrack to the game features 44 tracks from these famous composers, and samples can be heard on Atlus' newly opened official website for the game. The game hits stores on February 13th. Expect a full review closer to that date.

The Nintendo DS isn't the only system to get revisited by the characters of Final Fantasy XII. GameBase reports that one of the more popular characters in the beloved RPG, Balthier, will be making an appearance in the PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics. Considering how both FFXII and FFT share the same universe: Ivalice, it wouldn't be surprising to see even more characters make the transition.

[Via PSP-Vault]

It's about bloody time news now, with Square Enix announcing the official release date for Final Fantasy XII in PAL territories. Arriving on February 23rd (that's 2007), role-playing fans in Europe are the last to receive a game rife with political intrigue, androgynous street urchins and bunny-eared vixens. We think that might actually be the description on the back of the box.

There's no mention of a fancy collector's edition, but rumor has it that the game itself is well worth the asking price. Particularly impatient gamers would do well to pick up Okami in the meantime -- it's finally out in Europe on February 9th.

Having the inside scoop, Gamasutra reports that Peter Molyneux, Killer 7's Goichi Suda, and a team of Final Fantasy XII developers led by Taku Murata are joining the GDC 2007 lineup. Molyneux, well known for his mastery of hype-building (and subsequent apologies), will by lecturing on Fable 2, musing aloud about the brilliant innovations that might or might not make the final cut -- Molyneux promises to reveal "a totally unexpected feature" (we've heard that before).

Teasing aside, Molyneux is one of the most forward-thinking developers in the industry today. He might not always deliver, but he's earned his street cred for being a risk-taker. Molyneux's colorful presence is a key addition to GDC.

Also making appearances during the conference will be Goichi Suda, who will illustrate the experience of working on a small development team (in this case, Grasshopper), along with Taku Murata and other core members of the FFXII team, who will reflect on the lessons learned during the game's development.

Sam & Max Episode 1 : Culture Shock (PC)
I never thought I'd actually be grateful to LucasArts for assassinating their sequel to Sam & Max: Freelance Police. Now residing in the capable hands of Telltale Games, the series is setting the standard for episodic content and adventure gaming. Complete failure to laugh at Culture Shock's absolutely brilliant writing, memorable characters and off-the-wall puzzles indicates one of two things: either you're a robot, or you've recently discovered a dead kitten in your lap. (See also: My reviews of Culture Shock and Situation: Comedy.)

Bully (PS2)
Bully is my current favorite and has renewed my faith in Rockstar as a forward-moving publisher. The familiar game mechanics don't feel stale in this decidedly more innocent universe. Bully relies more on mischief than shock value, a relief, as are the smaller scale and lower difficulty level (really, the missions are simply less frustrating than some of the tedious tasks that abound in the GTA series). Bully isn't deserving of 'Game of the Year' honors, but Rockstar Vancouver's effort is one of the most refreshing and outright fun titles of 2006. [See also: "Dissecting Rockstar's formula"]

Easily mistaken for a vicious brand of shampoo and very often catapulted into turmoil by wars and magical beasts, the fictional kingdom of Ivalice has been the setting for a handful of Square Enix titles, almost all of them well-received by critics and fans alike. Just recently, Final Fantasy XII followed the adventures of some Ivaliceans Ivalicians free-spirited (and pointy-eared, in one case) residents of Ivalice. It follows then that Square Enix has announced an "Ivalice Alliance," a set of stories all taking place on the same stage.

Though you're already familiar with Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (slated for the DS), you may not have heard of the other two games revealed in the latest issue of Japan's Shonen Jump. The pages first mention Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War, a PSP remake of the original PSOne Tactics game. Some new cutscenes and a slight graphical upgrade are likely to be included, though we certainly wouldn't mind a better localization as well -- that's assuming the game makes it stateside. Secondly, there's (deep breath) Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Black Book. According to the translation note on Jeux France, it hasn't yet been specified whether it'll wind up on the DS or, as the horrific machine translation puts it, the "Game Servant Boy Advance." The latter choice, of course, will result in the game working on both platforms. Snap to it, servant boy!

Another magazine, Gamelabo, reportedly mentions that Square Enix also has two more unannounced Xbox 360 games in the pipeline.

Square Enix's closed-door TGS trailer for Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core has finally surfaced. For the bulk of this five-minute demonstration, a handful of manicured men (and one woman) ham it up in a whirlwind of staged emotional drama. Are we supposed to want to play a soap opera? (Don't answer that.)

There are some brief moments of relief, glimpses into the game's active battle system, which suggest commonalities with Final Fantasy XII. There's no denying that Crisis Core appears extraordinarily capable; a bittersweet detail. That is, efforts like Crisis Core really highlight the lack of solid support for PSP. Alas, Square Enix's prequel has been a long time coming -- and, for those of us outside of Japan, the wait isn't getting any shorter.

Just in time for the US release of Final Fantasy XII, updates for the spin-off have surfaced. Co-producer Eisuke Yokoyama and scenario writer/director Motomu Toriyama talked a bit with Dengeki DS Style magazine about the battle system, characters, summons and the world of Ivalice. Here are a few snippets from the IGN article:

• Asked if the game would use FFXII's ADB system, Yokoyama said that the battle system is mostly new. However, in order to keep FFXII players from getting confused, there will be a number of shared elements. The Gambit system will be a part of this title, although it will be simplified in order to accommodate beginner players. Also, the battle system will be fully playable with the stylus.
• Dengeki asked a question about the number of party members capable of joining your group. To this, Yokoyama responded that Fran and Balthier will definitely join in as party members (they were shown in the Tokyo Game Show trailer, after all). Due to the new game systems, Yokoyama expects there to be more party members than in FFXII.
• Summon beasts will apparently play a big role in the game. Toriyama expects Revenant Wings to have the most summon beasts of any Final Fantasy game ever. The summon beasts will be the key to battles, said Toriyama, and their use will be different from that of previous titles.

As more and more details appear, the eager question of Wi-Fi support sticks in our mind. There hasn't been any word involving Wi-Fi and Revenant Wings but we hope to hear some in the future. With the game taking advantage of every other aspect the Nintendo DS has to offer it would be a shame to see a key element get left out in the cold.